HISTORY OF STRANGER, FALLS COUNTY, TEXAS

Within this webpage, you'll find interesting information and photos of the Stranger/North Blue Ridge area. You'll
also find links to local
points of interest, local news, information about local businesses, school and
non-profit organizations, and generally what's happening in the North Blue Ridge/Stranger area.

If you'd like to add information, photos, or interesting antidotes about early-day or modern day Stranger, send me an email (lenkubiak.geo@yahoo.com)

or write me:

Len Kubiak PO Box 1479 Cedar Park, Texas
78630.

STRANGER BULLETIN BOARD

Received the following email from William E. (Buddy) Keeling:

April 12, 2010

My name is William Ernest Keeling. I was born in Marlin, TX on June 23, 1937. My mother was a Kyser and her father was William Ernest Kyser (Mr. Bud), for whom I was named.

His sister Mattie Kyser wrote a piece of history which was included in your history section on Stranger, TX. I would like to inform you that she misspelled her maiden name as “Keyser” which also appears in the spelling of her father’s name, W. D. Kyser.

For confirmation you can check the gravesites in Calvary Cemetery , Marlin, TX. I have also done considerable family tree research including trips to Pineapple, AL where W. D. Kyser and several of his children were born including my Grandfather, William Ernest Kyser. I have located W. D. Kysers parents gravesites in the Beard Cemetery , south of Pineapple. All surnames were spelled “Kyser.”

William E. (Buddy) Keeling

Received the following cute story about Stranger and Odds Texas:

I stumbled across your website and the information regarding the history of Falls County--particularly the communities of Reagan and Stranger. I was born in Marlin, and raised in the little community of Odds--just across the county line in Limestone County. And, if you are a native of Falls County, you probably realize that there are a bunch of Erskines there. (Yes, I'm probably related to all of them, but my dad has been dead for many years and I've had no contact with that side of the family, so I can't tell you much about the family connections).

HOWEVER, there is one true story that I will tell you, and I hope you get a grin out of it. I first heard this from my dad when I was a kid, and later repeated it to someone who inquired about that Erskine background. "I'm one of the Odds Erskines, but there are Stranger Erskines." See? If you know the background, that is both true and funny. However, my husband...who is NOT from around here......looked at me with stunned disbelief. It took a while for me to explain it all to him!

Barbara Bartlett
You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in.
~ Arlo Guthrie

Received the following informative email from Charles Hastings, a descendant of Elder and Fairbairn families of early-day Stranger.

Dear Mr. Kubiak:

My sister made me aware of your website and the Stranger link.
This is a note to say thank you for the joy of looking through the history and some of the family names in the cemetery list.

Andrew Jackson Fairbairn was my great-grandfather. My grandmother was Fannie Fairbairn (married E. V. Elder). She was a sister to Grady Fairbairn. Bill Fairbairn still lives in the family home in the Stranger community/along with living in Marlin.

The daughter of Lee Elder, Hildred Elder, married Durward Houston a long time Marlin family.

I have heard my mother, deceased in 2001 at age 92, talk many times of the families mentioned, especially the Garrett family.

We also have many family members buried in the Kosse Cemetery.
My thanks for all the good memories.
Charles Hastings
Lubbock, TX
chastings@door.net

Received the following email from
"Billy Terrell"

Dear Mr. Kubiak,
My name is Billy Terrell and my wife Valeri and I own
the house in
Stranger built in 1898 by Wm McKinney and his wife Lida
Barclay McKinney.
We have restored it and are trying to fnd out more
information on it. My
good friend, Joydell Garret Wolfram and her sister Marion,
told me a great
deal about the house and Stranger prior to their deaths,
but there are still
many gaps in the history of the place. Any information
that you would be
willing to share, in addition to that on the website, would
be greatly
appreciated.

At this time, Stranger has about 20 to 25 residents, and
one business, my
pipe shop. I've recently purchased a fire engine, so we
now have a fire
department as well! The town is growing again.

Thank You,

Billy Terrell

If you have additional information about the history of the McKinney home, please email Billy at:
rtlc@pipeline.com

THE HISTORY OF STRANGER/NORTH BLUE RIDGE

North Blue Ridge, later called Stranger, is a small community just a few miles north west of present-day Kosse in Falls County.

"My husband, Judge Walter Emmett Hunnicutt, was born June 11, 1865, and he passed away in December 1936. He was Judge of Falls County for fourteen years, at different times. He was the son of Winfield S. Hunnicutt, who came to Texas in 1849 and established his rural home in the Blue Ridge community where he continued to reside until his death in 1908. Mr. Scott Hunnicutt was a member of Company B, of Waller's battalion, General Hardeman's brigade of the Confederate Army. He was a native of Tennessee before coming to Texas.

"The pioneer record for large families was almost broken by Judge Hunnicutt's father and mother, above mentioned. There were seventeen children, my husband being among this number. I married Walter Hunnicutt on December 12, 1894. My maiden name was Miss Mattie Kyser and I was the daughter of W. D. Kyser a pioneer stockman and farmer, and business man of Merlin, Texas. My father and mother came to Texas from Alabama.

"I will try to tell you about some of the first families of the Blue Ridge community where Judge Hunnicutt's father settle in 1849, and the way they lived at that time. The Forbes family came to the area from Tenneessee. Dr. and Mrs. Robert Forbes arrived in the early fifties. His son, Dr. L. D. Forbes, graduated from the New Orleans school of medicine, and practiced both on the Ridge and in Marlin. The older Forbes built their home on the spot where Mrs. Forbes lives today. They built in the fifties, long before the Civil War. Aside from his practice of medicine, Mr. L. D. Forbes invented a mechanical cotton gin, where the feeders automatically carries the cotton to the gin-saws or units. Near the Forbes and Barclay homes there was located a mule-driven gin. This gin was across the road from the Swinnes place, owned by Bill and later, by Ed Vann. It was moved down near Big Creek and used until discarded for a newer model.

"Another early family to settle on the Ridge was the Barclay family whose [?] was known as the "Squire" and they lived in a log house on the spot a few hundred yards north of where Hancock's store stands today. Farther north east on the Ridge the Garretts lived. They came from Tenneessee about 1849. The old home, with some improvement, stands today, a silent reminder of those early days. The family history is one of destiny and accomplishment. The original head of the family was Thomas Garrett. His children were Jasper, Mary Elizabeth, Cynthia Ann and Catherine, Jim, Sarah, Tome and Rennie. All are linked with history and development of this section of the country.

"As we follow the Ridge in the location then of what is now Stranger, the next old home place is that of the Brothers family. Jesse Brothers with his wife and children came from Tenneesee to Texas in the late fifties. They brought their slaves with them. Like so many of their neighbors, they sought new fortunes in the land. They also sought relief from the troubled question of slavery; the Brothers family, with their slaves, camped under the big oak tree that stands today in the middle of the road as you approach the Ridge in the section now known as [?]. They settled near the Barclay family who kindly provided stock for meat for the family. The men went looked over the neighboring counties and returned to the Ridge an' bought land on the hill overlooking Big Creek and began to build their homes. Grandpa Jesse Brothers served in the Civil , returned on a furlough and died before the war ended. He left several sons, among them William, and Jesse, Junior. His sons and grandsons followed farming for their occupation.

"Further South, along the Ridge, lived a family wo had a son, Joel, who was supposed to be the first official in the community.

"One of Granny Moffett's daughters married Quinton Vann who farmed on the Little Brazos River. There are many descendants of the [?] family, whose head was William [?]. They came to the Ridge in an early day and William Erskine married Miss Mary Elizabeth Garrett. They built near the little church-school house where the present Methodist church is at Stranger. Frank [?] lives in the spacious old Erskine home in Stranger. {Begin page no. 5}"Still farther south-west, on the Ridge, is the old Eddins' home. John Eddins and family came to Texas from Alabama in 1860; and, after a short stay in Marlin, bought a farm lying close to Big Creek, in a valley between a ridge of hills. The farm now belongs to the Jesse Brothers' estate. Jasper Garrett persuaded Eddins to build his home up on the Ridge about the time the Civil War began. Eddins bought sufficient ground from the Garretts to build the home. Mr. Eddins and his sons had to walk a mile across the sandy ridge to get to his farm, leaving his wife and daughter, Kate to keep house.

"Near the Eddins home was the home of Hodge and also of Swinnes. And nor far away was the pioneer home of Allen Morrell, a son of the Baptist preacher, Rev. Z. N. Morrell. Two years ago, all that remained of the Morrell home, a heap of logs, was moved to the Falls County Old Settlers Association grounds and there were built into a log cabin in remembrance of those early pioneers. This old Morrell home stood on a spot later occupied by the home of Bill Fannin; then Grady Blair bought the place. It stood on top of the Ridge, overlooking Big Creek Valley and from it could be seen one of the most picturesque views in the county. For miles one could see the farms, dotting the countryside, with little spots of grass land and trees scattered about. Through this country runs old Big Creek which flows into the Brazos River. East of this Morrell home is the town of Marlin.

"Mr. W. T. Fannin came to the Ridge in 1875 and bought the Moffett home; later it was sold to the Blairs. On the Ridge, southwest of the Moffett home was the home of the Prices. W. A. Price, Junior, a son of the pioneer lives in the old Price home today. {Begin page no. 6}In 1882, Dr. and Mrs. J. C. Shaw came to the Ridge to live and settled east of the Price home. Dr. Shaw served fifteen months in the Alabama Calvary of the Confederate Army. He was a native of Alabama and his wife, Miss Nannie Sypart, was a Tennessean. Dr. Shaw practiced on the Ridge for many years, then moved to Marlin, where he died. His son, Dr. Frank Shaw succeeded him in his practice.

"About a mile south of the Stranger store, the Rogers family and John Marlin settled a few years after the battle of San Jacinto. The Rogers family settled on the Ridge, while the Marlin family settled at a place known as [?], a few miles south of the present town of Marlin. The Rogers and the Merlin families came from Tennessee, following the footsteps of Sam Houston.

"The Kay home and store were built where old Mrs. Gertrude Hancock lived and was south east of Stranger. Mr. Kay was a farmer and devoted church worker. He organized the first Sunday School at Stranger and was superintendent until his death. He was an un-official post master before the rural mail service was established. On business trips to Kosse, he would call for the people's mail and bring it to his store, where they came to get it. Mrs. Kays' son, by a former marriage, was Hollman Hancock. He married Miss Gertrude Garrett, daughter of the pioneer family of Garrets, of Blue Ridge. [?], Sanford Hancock, still owns and operates the store at Stranger on the Ridge.

"It is difficult to give the dividing line between Stranger and the Reagan community. The Stranger community on the Ridge can be seen for miles from the Waco-Marlin state highway. In fair weather, there is always a deep blue atmosphere over it, hence the name of Blue Ridge. The old Hunnicutt home stands overlooking the valley on the Ridge stands today just as it stood when Winfield Scott Hunnicutt located there in 1849. Additions have been made to the house and the logs covered with weather-boarding lumber. Two of his sons still live in the old house.

"You may stand on the Ridge and look westward where you can see the broad valley as it abruptly drops down below you with a ravine between the Ridge and the valley. Farms, farm houses and the green woods of Big Creek, dot this valley. In the fall of the year cotton pickers can be seen swinging to and fro, gathering the fleecy staple. Tall trees, sloping hill and beautiful prairies form a never-to-be-forgotten picture. About ten miles to the west can be seen the tops of buildings in Marlin, and a few miles beyond Marlin, one can see the trees which border the Brazos River.

"The Ridge gradually slopes south west to the little town of Reagan. Here is a small creek, named Salt Branch and on its banks many of the early settlers sleep the last sleep, unmindful of the changes wrought by Father Times since they came, in their ambition to build new homes, to the new state of Texas.

"To the east, lies the town of Kosse, where the Houston and Texas Central Railroad came through in the seventies. Some of the early Ridge settlers moved over to Kosse for the benefit of the railroad facilities. Among them was Dr. Toland, who came to the Ridge as a young doctor. He, like Dr. Poindexter, boarded at Granny William's. They could tell many a story of those early days. I remember one story that they loved to tell. All the people met at the little church to pray for rain. One woman came with her coat and umbrella, prepared for an answer to their prayers. They brought their lunch and spent the day. A long about the afternoon, the sky became over-cast and by late afternoon, it began to rain and what a rain fell! It rained so hard that all the creeks got out of banks and the crowd had to spend the night in the little school-church house and they spent the night giving thanks for their answer to prayer. But only one came prepared for an answer to their prayers. It was one of the oldest members of the flock and she declared that in time gone by, the way to receive an answer to prayer, was to have the faith to be ready for it.

"The Pools and the Bells were other families whose names are indelibly written into the history of the Blue Ridge settlement. The Bell family came from Tennessee ; they had a large family and took an active part in the affairs of the community. Two sons served in the Civil War and one had lost his life in the war with Mexico, along with fifteen other men from a neighboring county. Other prominent early families were the Arnetts, Mayes, Herron, Nichols, Vann, Hickman, Darden, Saxon, Clawson and many others who lived farther south on the Ridge. About 1870, two single men came from Tennessee; they were Henry Clay [Cowan?] and Jim Owens. Mr. Cowan married Miss Laura Wyche, who was teaching school near Bremond. She was a daughter of Dr. George Wyche who settled in the settlement known so Bedias, near Anderson, Texas, in the days before the Civil War. Jim Owens married Miss Betty Robertson, who came from a large family who lived on the lower Ridge. The Owenses made their home at Reagan, where they reared a family. The Cowan family, with others from the Ridge, moved in the early seventies to what was then known as Willow Springs, and is now the town of Mart.

"It is difficult to give even a brief sketch of those early settlers, but the Stranger settlement dates back to the days before the Mexican War. The Hunnicutts, the Barnes, Cornelisons, Williams, Mitchells, and others who settled on Blue Ridge at Woodland, had a definite part in the building of the Stranger community. There were other communities on the Ridge, and all are linked with the history of Falls county. In this outline, mention only is made of those who lived nearest the place where the school and church were held. It was many years later that the place secured a post office and was given the name of Stranger.

"Dr. Forbes had a gin a few hundred yards from his home. Later, Thomas Kerchain built a store and another man built a blacksmith shop. So, to a spot near the [??], came the first essentials of a community center, i. e., a doctor, a gin, a blacksmith shop, and a store. Kay's store was located where the present Hancock store stands today. Kerchain and others saw the advantage of having a post office up on the hill, and they wrote the government for blanks on which to make application for a post office. Kerchain received those blanks, worked out all the detalils and then they made their way to the nearest place to receive a hearing, probably Waco or Marlin.

"According to local history, the hearing was favorable and the need for a post office was established. And, the story goes, that the name the applicants suggested did not meet with the approval of those who held the hearing and that one of the officials, with some impatience, turned to Kerchain, who spoked English brokenly, and said: "Come, come! Can't you think of a suitable name?" To which Kerchain hesitantly replied, "Well, I don't know. I'm just a stranger in the community." To this the official replied, "Well, that will do-- Stranger," and he wrote the word "Stranger" upon the application blank which went to Washington and was approved. So this is the story of how Stranger, on Blue Ridge, got its name".

Stranger Location and Area History

Stranger, which went by the name, Upper or North Blue Ridge, is north of State Highway 7 and about ten miles east of Marlin in Falls County. The area was settled in the late 1840s and became a town in 1879. There are many sories about how the town got its name but the most likely story is that a post office representative asked the local blacksmith what to name the community, but that the blacksmith, a recent arrival, said he didn't know, he was a stranger to the town. By 1884 Stranger had four churches, a school, a steam cotton gin, a corn mill, and a hotel; at that time the community shipped cotton and grain. In the 1930's, Stranger still had five businesses but by the 1940s it reported only one business and an estimated fifty residents. In the 1940s the community still included three churches and two schools.

Another prominent settler of Stranger was Jesse (Boog)Clarence Brothers.
Jesse was born on September 14, 1883, at Stranger,
Falls County, Texas, lived in the Blue Ridge area and
died on January 21, 1953 (buried in Stranger
Cemetery).
Jesse was a son of Taylor Franklin and Lenora
Elizabeth ("Nora" Pool) Brothers. "Boog" married
Marguerite Ann Millerman. She was born on July 18,
1886, at Blue Ridge, Falls County, Texas and died
April 23, 1962 (buried by her husband in Stranger
Cemetery). Marguerite Ann Millerman was the daughter
of Charles Arrister and Dora (Wright) Millerman.

"Boog" was a farmer by profession all his life. During
the time his children were in school in Stranger, his
family resided in the home built by William M.
McKinney, whose wife had been deeded the land by her
parents.

Some of the most enjoyable social
occasions in the Stranger Community were when "Boog"
and Ann would clear out a couple of rooms in their
home, engage a fiddler's band, joined by harmonicas,
for dancing; and card tables set up in the other room
for playing dominoes and "42."

Later, "Boog"
and Ann moved to the early home of his parents near
the Harlan Gin in the Blue Ridge Community, where they
lived until their deaths.

Jesse and Marguerite Ann Millerman had two
children:

Marie Brothers -- who married Martin L. Shields

Frankie Lou Brothers, born May 31, 1916, at Stranger
-- married August 20, 1930, at Groesbeck, Limestone
County, Texas to James Leonard Garrett, b July 22,
1912, at Stranger, Falls County Texas, d February 17,
1983, in Marshall, Texas and buried in Stranger
Cemetery in Falls County.

Another prominent settler of early-day North Blue Ridge (and first postmaster of the new town, Stranger) was Harrison Kay.
Harrison and and his wife, Sarah Dunn were natives of Alabama and later moved to Cobb Co. Georgia where their first four children were born: William James Kay in 1847 John Thomas Kay 1849 Henry P. Kay 1851 Mary H. Kay in 1853

In or about 1857 Harrison moved his family to Arkansas, on Dec 1, 1857 he purchased 2 parcles of land totaling 120 acres for cash...in Navada County. On July 1, 1859 he purchased an additional 240 acres.. in Navada Co. Ark. By this time two more children had been added to the family. David C.( Crockett?) born in Ark about 1856 and Samuel Dunn born in Ark between 1858/59.

According to an autobiographical sketch of his son, H.P. Kay of Comanche Co., Texas, Harrison(Harris) by profession was a physician. On the second call for troops, he entered the Confederate sevice, but was discharged on account of ill health and returned home. At another call, he again responded, and a second time was discharged and returned home. He later offered his service a third time and was sent home to practice his profession among the needy war widows in connection with another physician.

For service he recieved no pay. After the close of the war, in 1865, he came to Texas, buying land in Falls Co., a part of the J.P. Moffett farm... He erected a store near his home south of the Joel W. Roberts home. He hauled supplies from Kosse, Texas to his store and always brought the mail before Stranger got its won post office.

In an article from The Marlin Daily Democrat "Stranger Rekindles Memories." ........ Once again Harris Kay conducts Sunday School in the old church school or had another big Christmas Party at his home on the side of the hill" Kay had a store located southeast of the present Stranger store. Mr. Kay was a devoted church worker, Sunday School teacher and Supertendent until his death."

"He was a farmer and had the finest orchard in the county- a pear tree that bore fruit for him had an abundant crop in 1938."

In 1879 , Harris Kay was appointed postmaster of Stranger, delivering the mail. Until that time Stranger was simply "Blue Ridge at Kays Store."

From A History of Falls County..." Harris farmed, planted an orchard, and was very active in the Blue Ridge Missionary Baptist Church at Stranger-- being a charter member and Deacon for about 20 years, and is said to have been a favorite with children. It was a result of his allowing the children to cover him with snow that caused his pneumonia that resulted in his death in November of 1889. Sarah had passed away during a Flu epidemic in 1871and is buried in the Stranger Cemetery as is Harris and His second wife Louisa Jane (Adair)Hancock, a young widow with one son Holman Kendall Hancock. There were 2 children from this union... Fleetwood Kay b. 1872 and Saletta Kay b. about 1874.

A head stone marks the graves of Harris and Louisa in the little cemetary at Stranger between the two churches still standing in 1981, it was placed there by Earl Hancock, son of Holman Hancock.

GARETTE CEMETERY

The Garette Cemetery was established in the original community of Blue Ridge, Falls County, Texas in 1851 with a gift of land (and site selected by) Thomas McKissick Garrett. It was used as the community cemetery for almost two decades, until the Stranger Cemetery and Churches were established in July 1869.In addition to the survey of tombstones in this cemetery, Family Bibles, and Falls County Deed and Death Records have been searched to identify some who are buried here without tombstones. Undoubtedly, there are some buried here who have been missed. Twenty or more gravesites have boulder-type stones to mark them, without name or dates. Several plots are outlined with stones, but have no stone within these to mark gravesites.

In the September 28, 1905 newspaper, The Marlin Democrat, a letter to the Editor from one Walter Tyrol, recounts the history of the Garrett Family, and states the following:

Thomas McKissick Garrett, himself, selected this beautiful burying ground... I have stood once more upon Bald Knob, as it was called in ante bellum days - now the Garrett Cemetery. Within ten days, loving hands laid to rest in this sacred soil, the father, Thomas McKissick Garrett, his daughter, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Erskine, and Easter - the faithful servant of the Garrett Family."

NOBLE, J. P., b 3-1-1834, d 12-28-1901

NORWOOD, Charlie - husband of Hattie Gertrude Erskine, and son of Jim & Lima
NORWOOD, Hattie Gertrude (Erskine) - daughter of James Franklin & Florence Midora Erskine, and wife of Charlie Norwood, b 9-15-1903, alive in March 1988 in Marlin, Texas
NOTE: There were 10 or 12 other gravesites on the Erskine Farm where Elizabeth Catherine (Maulding) Roberts and her infant daughter were buried; but their's were the only two tombstones still standing (cattle are free in this field). It is believed that others buried here included Joel Walter Robert's mother, 2nd wife, and another child were also buried on this private land:

PRICE, Adeline Rebecca (Henry) - wife of John Hamilton Price, and daughter of George R. & Martha (Price) Henry, b 3-18-1812, d 7-31-1878
PRICE, George Robert - son of John Hamilton & Adeline Rebecca (Henry) Price, b 11-24-1836, d 11-24-1908 - CSA
PRICE, James A. - son of John Hamilton & Adeline Rebecca (Henry) Price, b 9-14-1831, d 2-19-1882 - CSA
PRICE, John David - son of Wm.T. & M.J. Price, b 9-13-1878, d 7-11-1888
PRICE, John Hamilton - son of James & Mary Dunlap (Howe) Price, b in North Carolina 8-19-1809, d 8-22-1878
PRICE, John Henry - son of John Hamilton & Adeline Rebecca (Henry) Price, b 6-3-1838, d 2-22-1870 - CSA
PRICE, Lula A. (Hughey) - wife of Wm. A. Price, Sr., and daughter of Edward Bryson & Indiana Tennessee (McKnight) Hughey, b 12-15-1887, d 11-27-1861
PRICE, Margaret Jane (Busby) - wife of William Thomas Price, and daughter of David T. & Martha (Sweeney) Busby, b 9-25-1847, d 10-16-1939
PRICE, Mary Martha - daughter of John Hamilton & Adeline Rebecca (Henry) Price, b 4-2-1833, d 8-9-1883
PRICE, Minnie - daughter of Wm.T. & M.J. Price, b 3-8-1870, d 3-21-1880
PRICE, William Archer, Sr. - son of Wm. T. & M. J. Price, b 11-28-1884, d 6-25-1967
PRICE, William Thomas - son of John Hamilton & Adeline Rebecca (Henry) Price, b Giles County, Tennessee 3-10-1842, d 6-4-1917 - CSA
Died June 4, 1917 at Stranger, Falls County, Texas and buried in the Stranger Cemetery – was the youngest surviving child of John Hamilton and Adeline Rebecca (Henry) Price.On April 22, 1862, William Thomas Price enlisted at Alto Springs as a Private in Company B, 5th Calvary, Green's Brigade, Hardiman's Division, Trans-Mississippi Army. While en route to Val Verde, New Mexico with Captain Willis L. Lang, he contracted the measles at EI Paso and was left behind there - missing the tragic battle. Later, he became the Bugler for the company, and was in Galveston at the time of the surrender - remaining there for about a year after the end of the war to care for a sick friend.

In 1867, William Thomas Price married Margaret Jane Busby, b September 25, 1847 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, d October 10, 1939 at Stranger and buried next to her husband-a daughter of David T. and Martha (Sweeney) Busby.

William T. and Margaret lived on the Busby land, building the Price home beginning with the log cabin. They had five tenant families, raising cotton and corn. They reared four of seven children to adulthood:

Martha Jane Price, b ca 1868 - married Charles O. Robertson of Kosse, Limestone County, Texas, and had three children: Rupert Robertson who married Lois Rose, resided in Marlin, Texas, and had Sally and Jack Robertson; Lucy Marie Robertson (called "Tissie"), b December 5,1898, who married Charles Roy Brothers of Stranger, and had Charles Robertson Brothers and Jane (Brothers) Knight; and William J. Robertson who married Fern Wilson and operated a variety store in Marlin.

Minnie Price, b March 8, 1870, d March 21, 1880 at Stranger and buried in the Stranger Cemetery.

Clara Belle Price, b August 26, 1875, - married David McKinney of Stranger - a son of William M. and Elydia ("Lida" Barclay) McKinney. They ran a boarding house in Marlin, Texas, and had no children.

William Thomas Price took care of his sister, Mary Martha Price, b April 2, 1833, d August 9, 1883 and his brother, George Robert Price, b November 24, 1836, d November 24, 1908, until their deaths. He also took in a Confederate Corporal from Kosse, Solomon W. Stephen- son, b July 3, 1826, d April 23, 1912, who came by his home as a peddler and while there he was blinded by an accidental gun powder explosion. When he died, William Thomas Price buried him in the Stranger Cemetery in the Price family plot, and had the grave marked with a Confederate tombstone. Mr. Stephenson lived with the Price family until his death, and they cared for him as though he were part of the family.

William Thomas and Margaret Jane (Busby) Price were members of the Methodist Church, with their membership in the Methodist-Presbyterian Union Church at Stranger. After his death, Margaret continued to live for twenty-two years in her home where their son, William Archer Price and his wife, Lula, lived and reared their two children.